


Dead Moonlight

by BloodyRoses (orphan_account)



Category: Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, F/F, F/M, Flashbacks, M/M, Memory Alteration/Loss, Sleater-Kinney fanfic within a fanfic, Steampunk cyborg Lindsey, Tags May Change, Transgender, did i confuse you with that?, does that even make sense?, fan fiction about real people by a character who is a real person, girl!pete - Freeform, i totally stole that from the mona lisa video, just a little, she's not really steampunk, steampunk cyborg brendon urie(mentioned)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-06
Updated: 2015-06-06
Packaged: 2018-03-21 14:01:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3695009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/BloodyRoses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gee Way. Writes fanfic, is an ex-superhero/part time Riot Grrrl and a trans* woman.</p>
<p>Frank Iero. Gee's boyfriend until the government wiped his memory.</p>
<p>Lindsey Ballato. Cyborg who uses her steampunk fashion to hide her mechanical-ness.</p>
<p>((This story takes place in the present as well as the past and there will be many flashback chapters. Those will be in italics.))</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Oh How Wrong We Were To Think Immortality Meant Never Dying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This is a total ripoff of a lot of stuff, and I know that. But please bear with me. I promise it gets more original soon. I think. I hope so.
> 
> Shit that inspired this chapter:  
> Sleater-Kinney (DUH)  
> pixiewayro, cuz she's awesome and everything I write is partly inspired by her  
> Married In My Mind by 1_800_FRERARD, for the Gee writing fanfic part  
> Revenge and Bullets – MCR
> 
> Title from "Let You Get Away"-Electric Century

Gee walked out of the warm coffee shop and immediately shivered. It was fucking cold out. She wished she'd worn a warmer jacket, but seriously. It hadn't been this cold when she left her house. She still had to go to the comic book shop down the street, but dammit, it was too fucking cold. She turned back into the coffee shop where she managed to find a seat even though it was way too overcrowded. She got out her computer, deciding to do some "work", meaning typing out the latest chapter in her fan fiction story about her favorite band, Sleater-Kinney. In the story, the members of Sleater-Kinney were all superheroes who had saved the world numerous times. It was basically the story of what happened to her, with some slight changes. The whole point of the story was so she could leave Frank, her ex-boyfriend, clues about what happened between them. They had been superheroes together, until the government wiped his memory when he had discovered secrets that he wasn't supposed to know. Gee still remembered that day.  
  
  
_Gee walked into the office of her boss, wondering what had happened. She had been called to the office for an “important message,” whatever that meant._  
  
  
_“You wanted to see me, ma'am?”_  
  
  
_“Yes. Please, have a seat.” She gestured towards the chair, which Gee gladly took. “Gee,” she said, “I'm afraid I have some bad news. Mr. Iero has been caught with classified documents. This could be disastrous should these documents fall into the wrong hands.” She paused, leaning forward a bit. “We have arranged for a full memory wipe-”_  
  
  
_“NO,” Gee screamed. “NO, YOU CAN'T DO THAT!” She began to sob, wishing that this was just a dream or a cruel prank._  
  
  
_“Gee, please, calm down.”_  
  
  
_“NO, I can't calm down! He won't remember me, he'll forget everything that happened, he'll, he'll...” she sobbed. Her boss just watched her._  
  
  
_“I'm sorry, Gee. But we have to. It's the only possible option.”_  
  
  
_“No, it, it can't be. Please, can't you come up with anything, ANYTHING else? Please,” she sobbed._  
  
  
_“No, I'm sorry.”_  
  
  
_“Fine. Fine.” She stood up, making for the door._  
  
  
_“Don't bother trying to save him. It's already in progress.”_  
  
  
_“Can I be a part of his life after...” she waved her hand, “this?”_  
  
  
_“No. We cannot risk him remembering. I'm sorry.”_  
  
  
_“Okay. Fine. You know what? You know what? Fuck you.”_  
  
  
_“Language,” she said nonchalantly, examining her nails._  
  
  
_“I'm not a fucking kid,” Gee spat. “I'll say whatever the fuck I want. Isn't that one of you and this stupid government's rights that you 'guarantee'? 'Freedom of speech' or whatever the fuck? You know what, fuck that, don't answer it. I'm leaving. I quit. Goodbye, I hope I never see you again.” She stormed out. To her surprise, nobody came after her and no one stopped her as she left the building._  
  
  
She never did see her boss or anybody from her job again. That had been when she was 19, and about to get her surgery. Her _extremely delayed_ surgery. It was almost like they weren't going to give it to her. That was the other thing. Gee was trans. When she was eight, almost nine, people from the government came to her house. It turned out they had found out about her power and had been closely monitoring her to see if it would die out or if she would become more powerful. They also found out that she was transgender, and they had made her a deal.  
  
  
_“So, Gee. I heard that you'd like to be a girl. Is that true?” the nice lady on her bed asked. Gee nodded. “We can make you into one,” the lady said, putting her hand on Gee's shoulder and smiling at her._  
  
  
_“You can?” she asked._  
  
  
_“Yes. We can give you hormone blockers, hormones and eventually, when you turn 18, you can have a surgery to make you into a girl. Would you like that?”_  
  
  
_“Yeah,” she breathed. Her family was to poor to afford any of that stuff and now she had a chance to finally be what she wanted._  
  
  
_“Of course, we need you to do some things for us in return.” The lady was still smiling at her._  
  
  
_“Like what?” she frowned. She didn't like the sound of that._  
  
  
_“Well, we know that you can control water, isn't that right?”_  
  
  
_“Yes,” she whispered._  
  
  
_“Well, we have a special school for kids like you. There are kids with all kids of powers there and you'll fit right in. The school will teach you to use your power for good.”_  
  
  
_“And then what?”_  
  
  
_“Then, you'll use your power to fight evil for us.” The lady smiled. “So, what do you say? Do you want to become a girl and go to the special school and use your power for good?”_  
  
  
_Gee pretended to considered for a moment, then said, “Yes.”_  
  
  
_“Excellent.” She smiled again, then got up. “I'm going to go tell you parents about your decision.”_  
  
  
The “nice lady” turned out to be her boss. The “nice lady” turned out to be the one that wiped Frank's memory and ruined her life. The “nice lady” was the one who didn't bat an eyelash when Gee left. Gee knew why. She had thought about it a lot and she finally figured it out. In her eyes, Gee was replaceable, fucking replaceable. She could get anyone to replace Gee and play her stupid games, and when they left she could get someone else and then someone else. Gee was an object, something she could just use and then when she broke, she could buy a new one. Gee wouldn't be surprised if they had clones of her.  
  
  
She read over the draft, correcting a few errors, then clicked post. She sighed and sat back in her chair. She hated remembering what had happened, but she had to do it. For Frank. He read it, she knew he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continue?


	2. Where Did The Purple Pigeon Come From?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing Frank, Ex-boyfriend With No Memory Extraordinaire.  
> I told this is a ripoff, but you're still reading so it's your fault if you don't like this and you're still here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this is kind of a short chapter, but I feel like updating right now.
> 
> Shit that inspired this chapter:  
> Life on the Murder Scene DVD, I don't know how but it did  
> Patrick Stump - This City ft. Lupe Fiasco, for some reason   
> Motion Device - A Piece of Rock & Roll. The chapter title came from the video when I saw a purple pigeon. Yeah, I know. I fucking weird, deal with it.

We didn't start the fire  
It was always burning  
Since the world's been turning  
We didn't start the fire  
No we didn't light it  
But we tried to fight it  
  


Gee sat in the warmth of the cafe with her headphones on. She had a few assholes try to talk to her, saying some bullshit or other. Seriously, she had her headphones on. That was like the international _Leave-Me-The-Fuck-Alone_ sign. So she was just sitting there, thinking of Frank and how impossible her task of finding him and how stupid her plan of finding him was, when _he walked in_. Him being Frank. Yes, Frank, _The Frank_ , Ex-boyfriend With No Memory Extraordinaire. She was sure it was him. She watched him order some fancy drink, chat a bit with the bartender, then turn and leave.   
  


Now, Gee is known for having stupid ideas and acting on impulse sometimes. She also _hadn't fucking seen him_ for a long time and he was her _boyfriend_. And he had just walked in the shop, he was right there, she could get him, save him, make him remember. Then they'd go live somewhere together and live happily ever after. So really she couldn't be blamed for what she did. Or she could. Whatever. She packed up her bag, stuffing her computer and headphones in, slung it over her shoulder, grabbed her coffee and followed Frank out the door, cold be damned. She was going to get him. It was only once she was on the sidewalk, which was thankfully uncrowded due to the cold, did she realize she had no idea what to say to him.  
  


She decided to just follow him for a while, then introduce herself. He went into a comic book shop, the one she was planning on going to. Which, okay, shouldn't be surprising seeing as she knew him already. She knew he loved comics as much as her. As he walked among the shelves, she went where ever he did, trying to work up the courage to _say something_. This shouldn't be so hard, she _knew_ him, they were in a relationship for fuck's sake. But what if he'd changed, wasn't the same guy anymore? After about twenty minutes, she decided to talk to him.  
  
  


“Hey,” she said.  
  
  


He looked up at her and, fuck he was still hot as hell. “Hi,” he said shyly.  
  
  


“I'm Gee, what's your name?” Fuck, this acting thing was hard. She knew who the fuck he was.  
  
  


“Frank,” he said. She smiled.  And oh god, the smile he was giving her in return was just so cute. And then it hit her. She was standing in the comic book shop in front of Frank, who she was pretty sure was _The Frank_. How fucking weird was that? She wasn't allowed to see him, she was pretty sure the government wouldn't even let him move to anywhere near her. He probably had some friend who was a spy that told him to do stuff like stay away from Jersey so he didn't see her. She probably had a spy on her, too, now that she thought about it. How was he standing in front of her?   
  
  


“I like your shirt,” he said, still smiling that adorable smile that he had. And Gee just wanted to kiss him and tell him everything, but “Hi, my name is Gee, I used to be your girlfriend until the government we worked for together wiped your memory and you have superpowers, but you probably don't remember them and/or can't use them anymore, do you wanna hang out?” would probably make her sound crazy.   
  
  


“Oh, uh, thanks.”   
  
  


“Seriously, Morrissey is fucking awesome.”   
  
  


“No shit.” And, no she was _not_ blushing. Why would she be? She already knew him, they had _been in a relationship_ , she should be past blushing.   
  
  


“Well, I better go. Got some shit I gotta do for work.” And no, Gee wasn't letting him go that easily.  
  
  


“Do you maybe wanna hang out sometime?”  
  
  


“Yeah, sure.” And he was smiling again like the cute fucker that he is. They exchanged numbers, then they headed out. As Gee walked home, it was all she could do to not jump in the air and holler and run down the street. Fuck, she had to tell Mikey. He wouldn't believe it. And oh god, this was the best day of her life. She practically skipped down the block, her smile so big her face was almost splitting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly don't know why I included lyrics from “We Didn't Start The Fire”-Billy Joel. Please don't ask.


	3. Take My Hand And Be With Me In Wonderland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little backstory/flashback chapter. :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from Big Country-"Wonderland." It's an beautiful song by an amazing band and I suggest you check them out. :)  
> This is kind of a short chapter, sorry, but school fucking sucks and I double suck for procrastinating.

_When Gee first came to the Academy, she didn't know Frank. She had heard of him, he was a hero among heroes (or_ potential heroes _, as their teachers reminded them as often as possible). And then she started noticing him everywhere, in the cafeteria he sat by her, his locker was near hers, his room was in the same hall as hers, he was friends with the same people as her. Despite that, they never officially met or talked. They said the occasional Hi, helped each other with homework, hung out at the same places, but never actually talked or anything. Then one day she found a bright green note slipped under her door. It said_ "Meet me at the Whomping Willow at sundown xofrnk." _She smiled and tucked it in her pocket then continued into her room to do her homework. Eventually, she fell asleep. When she woke up, her face was stuck to her book with drool._

 

_When lunchtime came, she sat down at her normal table, which Frank sat at. He ignored her, just like he had been doing all day. He hadn't even said hi to her in the hall like they normally did and Gee wondered what was wrong. It wasn't like him at all. When their classes were over, she cornered him as he was going to his room.  
_

 

_"You've been avoiding me all day and you ignored me at lunch. I know we don't talk much, but what's up with you?"_

 

_"Nothing. I'm fine." He tried to slip through the doorway, but Gee blocked him_

 

_"No, you're not. Just tell me, did I do something?"_

 

_"You didn't come last night."_

 

_Gee frowned. "Last ni- Oh, oh the note! Oh, I'm so, so, so, so, so sorry, I fell asleep doing homework. I'm sorry." She bit her lip and and studied her toes._

 

_Frank sighed. "It's okay," he said. "Wanna come in?" he asked opening his door. Gee looked through the doorway and saw Misfits and Iron Maiden posters and smiled._

 

_"Sure," she said. As they talked, she found he had similar tastes as her in most things, music, movies, he even liked comics. Superheroes that like comics, that was something. But Gee didn't think of herself as a superhero. To her, everyone there was just a bunch of normal people. Frank was just a normal dork, she was too._

 

_~*~*~*~_

 

_Gee slipped out of the window and down to the ground. She ran up the hill to the Whomping Willow, where Frank was waiting for her._

 

_"Ready?" he whispered into the darkness._

 

_"Yeah," she whispered back. He took her hand and pulled her along to the stone wall that surrounded the school grounds. He pushed the bushes out of the way and moved the wooden board out of the way, revealing a hole. Frank climbed through, then helped Gee. It was their first time sneaking off school grounds together. Frank had heard someone talking about the hole and they wanted to see what was outside the walls for themselves. On the other side was more grassy field, but they could see a town a little way away._

 

_"Race you there," Frank said, taking off running._

 

_"No fair!" She ran after him, slowly catching up until she tackled him. The fell to the ground together, panting and giggling, not even halfway to the town. When she went to get up, Frank pulled her down again. She raised her eyebrows, not that he could see. "I thought we were racing to the town," she said, but laid down next to him.  
_

 

_"Maybe next time. Kinda too far for tonight, don'tcha think?"_

 

_"Okay. Hey Frank?"_

 

_"Yeah?"_

 

_"Oh never mind. Hey look, I can see Orion's Belt."_

 

_"Where? I don't see anything."_

 

_"There, see the three stars in a row and then that one a little further down?"_

 

_"Oh yeah, I see."_

 

_"Something about the stars is really fuckin' beautiful."_

 

_"Kinda like you." He wasn't flirting, he was just stating his opinion. Gee was his best friend, they had done a lot together, and he wanted it to stay like that, and he knew Gee knew and felt the same. She blushed anyway.  
_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harry Potter references even though I don't like Harry Potter that much. I'm sorry. Although, Gee was in the Academy before Harry Potter even came out.  
> Comments seriously make my day.


	4. Be My Rebel Grrrl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little insight into Frank, plus a party. And parties have assholes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized while writing this that Gerard said something about writing a comic or something about a trans* superhero somewhere.  
> I had fun playing around with Gee as a Riot Grrrl after Riot Grrrl ended. And why not, I mean Gerard recently tweeted “Can a five-and-a-half year old listen to Bikini Kill?  
> I say absolutely.” So...  
> I also watched a bunch of Kathleen Hanna interviews/lectures/stuff on YouTube. And listened to A LOT of Bratmobile. I'm learning a lot about stuff while writing this.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-6AeVeFxjQ  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcmIjU2dR-E  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZxxhxjgnC0&feature=share  
> http://onewarart.org/riot_grrrl_manifesto.htm  
> https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~freem20n/classweb/index.html  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9G45K6FgaI  
> All things you should check out.

Frank remembered more than he let on. He remembered a girl with black hair. He remembered a building. And there was a school, he was sure. But it was all like a dream he couldn't quite recall.

 

When he had woken up in a bed that wasn't his one day with big gaping holes in his memory, he had momentarily panicked. Then he remembered the needles and the blurry faces, and being strapped down. But he didn't remember why that had happened. It bothered him. It also bothered him that he could clearly see the fake memories they had tried to plant in his mind were so obviously fake. When he “remembered” them, it was like it all happened to someone else.

 

And that wasn't all. Sometimes, when he was alone, he would sit on his bed and if he concentrated hard enough, he could levitate. Or make other objects levitate. Just slightly, nothing major. But it was still there. It was his secret, though, and he never told anyone. Not even his best friend, Ray.

 

Frank excepted that he didn't have a normal life. That didn't mean he liked it, or didn't try to make anything better. But he was aware that he was different. So when he saw a girl in a comic book shop with black hair who was following him around (and had been at the cafe he went into), he was mildly suspicious, yet also curious. She looked familiar, but he couldn't place it. When he went home to try to remember-like he did every single night- the girl from before came to mind, the one that he knew from before he lost his memory. She was really important, but he couldn't figure out why. He needed to remember her, who she was. If he did, then he could _possibly_ remember the rest.

 

Comic Shop Girl, Gee, had somehow got his number, which he was fine with. She was cute. Still, he was surprised when he had a text message asking him if he wanted to come to a party with her a couple of weeks after they met.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Gee pulled on her homemade shirt that said BIKINI KILL in black permanent marker and her new black skirt she just bought a couple of days ago. She was going to a party in some shitty basement that she had been invited to by a friend of a friend of the host. Frank would be there. Logic implied it was time to dress to impress. Or not logic, maybe stupidity. He could not show up and then it would all be for nothing. But she was going in prepared, Frank or no Frank. 

 

She twirled in front her mirror, then decided she was ready. She grabbed her purse and her cassette player which she had managed to buy with what little money she had off some girl who was having a garage sale of her mother's stuff. She also walked away a box of tapes, a long conversation on feminism and a friend. The first tape she popped into the player was a mixtape titled “Be My Rebel Grrrl.” And the first song on the tape was “Rebel Girl” by Bikini Kill. When she climbed into her car, she put that tape in. She needed to blast music in order to calm her nerves. She drum's along on the steering wheel and when Kathleen Hanna's voice hits her, she smiles. She's got this.

 

 _When she talks I hear the revolution_  
_In her hips there's revolution_  
_Where she walks the revolution's coming_  
_In her kiss I taste the revolution_

_Rebel girl, rebel girl_  
_Rebel girl you are the queen of my world_  
_Rebel girl, rebel girl_  
_I know I wanna take you home_  
_I wanna try on your clothes oh_

_That girl thinks she's the queen of the neighborhood_  
_I got news for you she is_  
_They say she's a dyke but I know_  
_She is my best friend, yeah_

 

When Gee had first walked away from her boss, she had vowed to stop using her powers and live a normal life. She would get an apartment, get a job, maybe try to finish school. So far, she had an apartment (it was really shitty, but she loved it) and a job. But she hadn't felt like she was doing enough. She still wanted to be a hero, she wanted to help people. She just didn't want to use her powers to do it. So she had started doing little random things, like leaving notes in the store and carrying around a Sharpie for when she wanted to defile bathroom walls with her messages. She was sure the store she went to regularly hated her. Not her specifically, more like how you hate whoever spray-painted graffiti all over your house. She also went to the library every so often and stuck notes in random books and got sheets of paper and just wrote whatever she wanted and then taped them to walls of buildings in alleys. She went to punk shows in poorly lit basements and crowded bars and venues with crappy sound systems and handed out photocopies of those papers she taped to the walls. She made friends who had the same interests as her and awakened lots of girls to Riot Grrrl and feminism. She went to parties and talked to people for hours about all kinds of stuff. She was happy.

 

But she still remembered Frank. She remembered how they were going to run away together, how they were going to change the world together, how they were going to live happily ever after. And she remembered how she lost Frank, how he was taken from her.

 

But now, that would all change. She was going to the party, Frank would (hopefully) be there and she was going to get past "acquaintance" in Frank's eyes. Blasting music a _little_ bit too loudly was understandable, so anyone who complained could fuck off.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Gee stood in the corner away from the kitchen and the drinks, scanning the crowd for Frank. The room was hot and sweaty and some pop song that could probably be found on any Top 40 list was playing. She had told him to meet her there, but she was afraid he'd decided not to come. He _had_ texted her saying he would come, right? He was probably just held up at work or something. Maybe he had gotten in an accident. Her stomach clenched. No, she needed to stop think about that. He was just late is all. Nothing to worry about.

 

So that's where Gee was, minding her own business and _not fucking bothering anyone_ , when the official Douchebag Of The Party decided that, _Hey, here's a young woman by herself, let's go invade her privacy!_

 

"Nice ass," he whispers in her ear, alcohol heavy on his breath. Gee ignores him. She wants to punch him so bad, she probably will if he does anything else. 

 

"Excuse me?" says a voice. Both Gee and the guy turn, and Gee does a little gasp because there's Frank. His voice is hard even though he kind of has to shout over the music, which has switched to some dance beat that has way too much beat for Gee. "Is he bothering you?"

 

"No, man, we were just having some fun, right baby?" the guy slurs.

 

Gee nods. "Yeah, I was just going to return the favor," she smiles, then pulls her arm back and punches him square in the jaw. "So much fun." The guy kind of just reels backwards and then stands there shocked. "I hope you think twice before bothering a girl again," Gee says, voice losing the friendly tone. "Get out, you disgust me, you piece of human garbage." Surprisingly, he complies. "Sorry you had to see that," she says to Frank after Mr. Misogynist left.

 

"Nah, that was totally cool. You owned that asshole." He smiled at her. "Sorry I'm late," he said, scratching the back of his head but offering no explanation as to why he was late.

 

"It's OK," she says. "You wanna grab some drinks?"

 

"Sure," he says, smiling his stupid cute smile and Gee forgets to be mad at him for being late. The rest of the night passes in a blur of music, dancing, talking and Frank.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Riot Grrrl Gee was inspired by Rebel Rebel by my99centdreams.  
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/537454


	5. Umbrella

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lindsey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't hurt me! You probably hate me and I understand. I haven't updated in about a month *blames school* and I am reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally sorry. I promise I'll try to update more often. And if you read my other fics, I promise you I'm NOT abandoning them.

Lindsey pulled on the last piece of her outfit, a top hat that she _might_ have stolen from her grandpa, the one that she put the goggles on. The goggles that had a clock in place of one of the lenses. The clock that hid her ticking. The ticking that she made whenever she moved.

 

She checked again to make sure she had oiled her joints. No need to be squeaking when she already was going to be called out on her clothes. Her hand hovered over her umbrella, before she decided to bring it just in case. It was cloudy out, but it didn't look like it was going to rain. Then she made her way out the door, walked down the stairs because it was faster than waiting for the elevator that already had bunch of people waiting for it, and because she needed to lose a little weight, and because she liked the sound her boots made as she clunked down them.

 

She ran to the bus stop even though she wasn't nearly late, her skirt billowing around her ankles and her pigtails slapping the back of her head. She held her hat down with one hand and her umbrella in the other. When she got to the bus stop, she set her umbrella down the bench and fumbled around in her belt pouch for her wallet. After a brief snap struggle she sat down, clutching the money in her hand. An old lady watched her with a slight smile on her face.

 

"You are very pretty," she said.

 

"Thanks," Lindsey smiled at her. "I like your necklace."

 

The woman looked down. "Oh, this? It was my mothers. I gave it to my daughter, but she... she died in car crash." She looked up and Lindsey saw tears in her eyes, but she was smiling. "I've been looking for someone to give it to. I think you might be the one."

 

Lindsey's eyes widened. "No, I couldn't possibly."

 

A bus rolled up. "Oh, here's my ride," the woman said. She took the necklace off and set it down where she had been sitting. "I'll just leave this here for you." She climbed on the bus. Lindsey watched as she sat down next to a window. She gestured at the necklace and mouthed something like " _Go on, take it_ before the bus drove away. Lindsey sat next to the necklace until her bus pulled up. She hesitated a moment before grabbing it. Because now that she knew the story behind it, she couldn't leave it for someone to take and sell. Then nobody would get it.

 

She climbed aboard the bus with the necklace heavy against her chest.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Gee stood under the awning of some store. It was pouring and she had left her umbrella at home like an idiot. She pulled her coat closer to herself. Dammit, why did her past self have to be so stupid? It was cloudy, there was a 50% chance of rain. That meant bring your umbrella, dumbass.

 

She shivered, and that's when a girl with raven black hair and too red lipstick backed out of the shop. She locked the door, tugging on the handle to make sure it was closed. Then she turned around and opened her umbrella. That's when Gee noticed her outfit; top hat with some pretty fucking cool goggles on it, a black waistcoat over a white dress shirt and this weird layered skirt with a belt that had a bunch of pouches on it. Gee stared her for a while before she realized Umbrella Girl was about to leave.

 

"Wait!" Gee said, then bit her lip. Umbrella Girl turned to her. "I, um, are you going to the bus stop?"

 

"Yeah, why?"

 

"Well, I, uh, kind of left my umbrella at home. Can I-"

 

"Sure." Umbrella Girl walked over to her. Gee stepped out from Under The Awning and into Under The Umbrella. Together they raced down to the bus stop.

 

"So," Gee said once they got there, "what's your name? I can't keep calling you Umbrella Girl in my head, you know?"

 

"Lindsey, Lindsey Ballato."

 

"Gee Way." Lindsey smiled. When Gee's bus got there, Lindsey got on with her, and when Gee got off, so did Lindsey. As it turned out, they lived in same apartment building, because coincidence and fate and shit.


	6. Sometimes I Sleep, I Like To Talk About Television

_"Would you stop it?"_

_"I'm not doing anything, I swear." The light dimmed for the tenth time that evening and Gee was getting really pissed at Frank._

 

_"Yes you are. It's gotta be you, I'm not doing anything."_

 

_"No, it's not possible. Telekinetics can't do shit like that, we can only move shit. That's, like, an Electric."_

 

_"Haven't you heard of multiple powers?"_

 

_"Yeah, but-"_

 

_"But what?"_

 

_"I-I'm not doing anything."_

 

_"I wasn't doing anything when the bathroom flooded," Gee shrugged._

 

_Frank giggled. "Okay, but, if this is me, then what do I do?"_

 

_Gee shrugged again. "I don't know, whatever you did when you found out about, y'know, your telekinesis."_

 

_"So basically, don't tell anyone and try to figure it out on my own?"_

 

_"Yeah."_

 

_"Okay." He picked his book up again. "Fuck history," he muttered, and the light dimmed again. "Sorry!"_

 

_Gee sighed. "It's fine."_

 

~*~*~*~

_Gee honestly wasn't surprised that Frank was busy conjuring volts of electricity behind the laboratory the weeks leading up to his birthday. He was strange like that.  She was kind of impressed that he hadn't made anything explode and/or gotten in trouble yet. Kind of. Although, there was that one time when he was showing Gee how he could cover his entire body in electrical charges and the history teacher (like, fuck history) decided that the morning that two students were breaking rules was the perfect morning to take a walk around school grounds. They didn't get caught, but it was a close call._

_~*~*~*~_

_"Happy birthday, Frankie." Gee handed him her present and totally didn't blush when he smiled at her._

_"Thanks."_ Goddam it, _she thought,_ stop being so cute.

_"Well, go on, open it," Patrick urged. Gee grinned at him because he'd helped her make it. Frank rolled his eyes but tore into the wrapping paper anyway. He pulled out the tape and flipped over._

_"'For frnk, who can't spell for shit,'" he read out loud. "Fuck you, I can spell."_

_"Just so you know, Gee wants you to listen to it later," Patrick butt in. He glanced at her before adding, "But she's to chicken to tell you that."_

_"Are you insulting me?" Gee asked, mock-offended._

_"Maybe."_

_"Wow Patrick, I didn't know you had it in you," Frank said, ripping open an envelope. He pulled out the card inside and frowned. "I swear, I have a secret admirer." His eyes scanned the card. "Or a stalker. Look at this." He handed the card to Gee, who quickly read it, then handed it back._

_"What's wrong with it?"_

_"I have no idea who the fuck those people are," he said, pointing at the names at the bottom of the card, then tearing open the next present.  
_

_"If it helps, you are kind of popular," Patrick said. "It's probably just some kids who look up to you."_

_"Whatever. Oh look, Mom got me more clothes." He tossed the half open present aside, and Gee knew he'd be wearing the shirt wrapped in orange wrapping paper for weeks on end. "I wonder how many people sent me candy."  
_

 

_"Only one way to find out," Gee said, grinning._


	7. I Like The Sound Of The Broken Pieces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter seems longer than the others, but I'm not sure that it is. Anyways, if you read Late Dawns, I'm not sure when I'll updating it. I promise you I will though.

Lindsey leaned against the counter, rubbing the necklace that the woman had given her between her fingers. She was really fucking tired. It was raining again and no one was going to come into the antique shop. She really should just be allowed to go home. But she wasn't and she really should just suck it up, but she couldn't stop thinking about how tired she was. 

 

The bell above the door chimed and Lindsey glanced up. It was Gee. She looked around the shop before spotting Lindsey in the corner and grinning at her.

 

"I see you brought your umbrella with you this time," Lindsey said, smiling back.

 

"Yeah." She glanced down sheepishly. "So you work here?" she asked, quickly changing the subject.

 

"Uh huh," Lindsey yawned.

 

"Slow day?" she asked, glancing back at Lindsey from where she was admiring some porcelain plate from the sixteenth century or something.

 

"Yeah," she yawned again. "But it's more than that. I've been really tired lately and I don't know why. Or, not tired, more like...drained. Like-"

 

"Someone attached a tube or something to your chest and slowly pulled your energy out of you and just left you to carry on."

 

"Yeah, exactly like that. How'd you know?" she frowned.

 

"Empath," she muttered, turning back to the shelf.

 

"Oh." Lindsey felt bad for Empaths. Unless they put their sheilds up, they were bombarded with other people's emotions. She had heard stories about really strong empaths going crazy from it all.

 

"You know what's weird though?" Gee asked, becoming talkative again. "I came in here and it was like someone ripped all my sheilds away. Do you have like a Deactivator or something?" Lindsey pointed to a little gnome above the doorway. "Ah," Gee said. She crossed over to the doorway. Lindsey watched her pull the folding stool out from behind a dresser and set it up underneath the door frame. She climbed on top of it and grabbed the gnome. "I didn't know people still used these. I thought people just used those electronic ones." She turned it over in her hand, studying the bottom.

 

"In case you haven't noticed, this is an antique shop." Gee laughed. She had a nice laugh. Lindsey liked it.

 

"Who's Grevan Smith?"

 

"Probably the guy who made it." Lindsey yawned again.

 

"I'm ninety percent certain I've seen that name before." She climbed down from the stool with the gnome still in hand. "Can I buy this?" she asked, putting the stool back.

 

"Sure, I don't see why not. We have like two others in here somewhere. I'm pretty sure the other two are turned off though." Lindsey rang her up, putting the gnome in a padded box and then into a bag. "Here you go." She handed the bag to Gee. "So, wanna hang out Saturday?" she asked, taking the money from Gee's outstretched hand.

 

"Sure." She smiled again. "I'll come over around ten or eleven, and we can get lunch or something?"

 

"Yeah, okay." Lindsey waved at Gee as she exited, then she picked herself up and checked that none of her metal was showing. She looked around the shop. No one was going to come in, she had plenty of time to search for one of the gnomes.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Lindsey unlocked her door, pushing through and dumping her bag onto the ground. She stumbled into her bedroom, collapsing face first onto her bed. She knew she was going to regret not taking off her clothes in the morning, but she was so goddam tired. Her hat rolled off onto the ground and she prayed that the clock wasn't broken before passing out.

 

When she woke up, her left arm-the mostly mechanical one-was stuck at an odd angle and she couldn't move it. She wandered into the bathroom and splashed water on her face. Her reflection gazed back at her. Actually, gazed was the wrong word. It stared with dull, tired eyes. She surveyed her appearence, the tangled hair, the smuged makeup, the metal peeking out from under her collar. She picked at the shoulder of her shirt. It was all crinkily, but she couldn't take it off with only  one arm.

 

She walked back to her room and sat on the bed, pulling her boots off and throwing them into the corner. She pulled her skirt off and tossed it into her laudry basket. Then she crossed over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of pajamas and the oil can. After she took care of her arm, she slipped into her pajamas. She wanted to go back to sleep, but she knew she had to call her boss and tell him she couldn't come in. After she did that she could go to sleep. She sighed and picked up her phone.

 

"This is Lindsey," she said when her boss didn't pick up. "I can't come in today. I've been really exhausted lately. I don't know why." She rubbed her forehead. "So yeah, I'm sorry. Send Brendon in or something." She hung up because she was about to fall asleep. Her hand fell onto her chest, onto the necklace, and she drifted off again.


End file.
